


Stop and Stare

by deincarnate



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, Idiots in Love, Teasing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-03
Updated: 2018-01-03
Packaged: 2019-02-28 00:00:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13259346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deincarnate/pseuds/deincarnate
Summary: Dolley comes home to her fiancée and he cherishes the moment.





	Stop and Stare

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PaintedVanilla](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaintedVanilla/gifts).



Dolley blew into their apartment in a gust of wind. Whether from the blustery winter weather or static electricity from countless bundles of warm layers, stray strands of her hair stuck up wildly, framing her face. The warm yellow of the light in the hall created a golden glow behind her head. This halo, in combination with bright pink-tinged cheeks from the cold, convinced James that his fiancée was an angel.

He had religion in his roots, instilled in him by his parents in pursuit of tradition and strong family values. For all of the time James had spent in church throughout his young life, it did not feel sacrilegious to say that Dolley looked divine. 

There was quiet divinity in her renewal and absolute resplendence. It was a gift to witness her return to life, watching those beautiful pink cheeks fill again, seeing them color at other times, more frequently now, from bouts of laughter that made her eyes crinkle and her chest ache for air. She was breathless now, too, lungs emptied by the biting chill outside. Still, she let out a contented sigh. 

He could see her from his spot on the couch but he couldn’t resist a closer look as he abandoned his book, open-faced, on a cushion to move closer. Socked feet slid silently across hardwood floors, bringing him to the end of the hallway. She still hadn’t noticed him. James watched.

Even with much more on the horizon, James was reservedly eager to take advantage of this opportunity to see her in a quiet moment of domestic bliss. He cherishes them all, no less now than the first one when she turned in bed and flipped her hair back directly onto his face before immediately stealing half of the covers. 

It seemed silly now, but that was the first time he could remember her taking what she wanted. Despite the slightly knit expression she’d had on her face, James saw when he had gotten up that she was actually peaceful. That was a new experience in and of itself. Curled there around a spare pillow and tangled in the bedspread, an easy sleep seemed to help her lose some of her ever-present fears. She became aware of her accidental theft the next morning when she didn’t feel James pressed next to her through the thick wrap of linens. 

Dolley couldn’t stop apologizing over breakfast until James smiled into his coffee, keeping a steady downward gaze as he said, simply,

"I still want you here, Dolley."

He remembered her looking up at him, eyes full of overlapping emotions. He had raised his own eyes to meet hers. He saw traces of confusion and hurt. He hoped that he saw hope somewhere in there as well. He took a deep draw from his steaming mug and set it down on the table with a dull thud that felt louder than it should have in the relative silence of his pause. 

Trying to warm his voice without being too loud, he spoke again,"I- hm.” Another pause. 

“Sorry, doll; I need to say this well,” James said. 

Choosing his words carefully he continued,

"I'm not going to make you leave for being present in my home or in my life when I invited you here myself. More than just being welcome you’re loved. You more than deserve warmth and comfort.." James trailed off.  
Dolley deserved so many things. No, Dolley deserved everything. He would give her anything he had to give. 

It was the first time James had felt that way about another person. 

Awash in the memory, James remembered how stupid he had felt when he struggled to reach for words to express himself. Of all things he could have said he had come to what he hoped would be received as a genuine statement of compassion and kindness.

"You are welcome to steal my blankets any time, love."

Dolley didn't apologize again that morning. She seemed to be at a loss for words at the time, closing off for a bit as she sat at the table alone while James cleared their plates. 

It took many more quiet mornings of reassurances to break her of the endless apologies always ready on her tongue. 

Each time James responded with love and encouragement she was more afraid of his frustration or anger. She knew all too well how quickly the tables could turn. How people could change in an instant as kindness led to the inevitable contempt that reared its head like wildness emerging from a rabid dog, formerly tame and sweet. She could never pin down a cause for that kind of change before so she overthought and anticipated. She hadn't wanted to lose him. 

It had taken time, but as they grew together James came to understand the whys of Dolley’s behavior. He was always been willing to wait for understanding to come in time and it did, slowly, after many midnight conversations. He was a patient man, almost to a fault, but it had served him well. His patience had allowed him to let Dolley heal.

James now smiled fondly at the thoughts of their past together, watching as Dolley began to set down her things. 

A small smile perks up the corners of her mouth resulting in a glow that radiates from her face. She is radiant. God, does she look _warm_.

Dolley hangs her coat and tries to toe off her snow boots, catching herself on the wall when she nearly trips, tired and unwilling to completely de-lace them. It’s a tad surprising to see her being so stubborn, but it is ridiculously cute. 

She turns towards the living room and makes to call out to James but stops short as she notices him leaning against the doorframe.

Her little smile grows, before turning almost instantly into a faux-seductive expression.

She mimics his natural door-lean but poses her arms above her head, chin resting on a fist as she drapes herself against their front door.

“Hey there, handsome. You come here often?” 

Speaking through her smile, Dolley can’t quite maintain her composure when she watches James suppress his own smile as he plays on her joke by wiggling his eyebrows like a maniac. She tries to make another face back at him in further mockery, but her quick exhale in a “pfft” is all it takes before they both lose themselves in laughter. 

It rings through the small hallway, echoing off of the thin walls boxing them in, filling the space. There’s no doubt in either of their minds that adjacent neighbors could also hear as joyful sounds overflow from the couple as they gasp for air. Neither care.

James looks up at Dolley as the laughter starts to fade but he loses it again, prompting another round of giggles as he half stumbles back into the living room to flop down onto the couch and compose himself. 

Dolley follows close behind to sit next to him. She puts his book onto the coffee table and curls into his side. Her former smile is now a face-splitting grin, the remnants of their laughing fit. 

“What..” sighing, “on EARTH was that?” Dolley asked, looking up at James with bright eyes. 

“I was just watching you come home,” came the response, full of adoration. “YOU’RE the one who started this. No wonder people think you’re the fun one,” said James, pretending to be defensive.

“Babe?” 

“Yea, doll?”

“I am the fun one.”

Dolley’s statement earned a giggle-snort, a rare treat to hear from James. 

Both grinning now she went on, “But seriously, what was that? How can I be expected not to tease you when that’s the first thing I see when I come home? Here I am thinking about my lovely fiancée reading or making us dinner and I walk through the door to see you in a stance I haven’t seen anyone pull since college. Frankly, it was hilarious.” 

“To be fair, I was reading. And excuse me, but I seem to recall you rather liking me during college. Besides, that was nothing compared to you tripping over yourself as you walked through the door, _I_ just have the kindness not to make fun of you for it.” James said.

With an audible smile, but softer now, “Are you that eager to see me, Dolley?”

She hummed as she let her eyelids drop a little. She reached up from her spot near him and wrapped her hands gently around his strong neck, pulling him down just a little to give him a kiss. 

If she hadn’t already warmed from the cold outside, this kiss did her in. She felt herself melt a little bit into his body heat and the slow rhythm they set as they moved together. Shared love made the air feel heavy, a weight that wrapped around them like a stolen comforter or the lingering taste of words and coffee kisses on a quiet morning.

Dolley pulled away for just a moment to smirk up at the man who would become her husband. The love of her life.

“I’m always eager to see you, James,” she said, almost as reverent as he sounded a moment before. 

Her cheeks were still pink.

He leaned down of his own volition this time as he moved to be impossibly nearer to Dolley, closing the kiss again and silently resolving to never leave this couch.

Her lips were warm.

**Author's Note:**

> The first part of several possibly connected Dollmads things for the lovely PaintedVanilla. A mess, honestly.


End file.
